Nyons, the little Nice in the Rhône-Alpes

19 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Nepomuk

© Nepomuk

Nyons is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.   read more…

The non-stop race Vendée Globe

8 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Sport, Events Reading Time:  5 minutes

Vendee Globe Race Route © NASA

Vendee Globe Race Route © NASA

The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. The 2012-2013 edition started Saturday, November 10, 2012.   read more…

The seaside resort Royan

29 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Royan Harbour © Cobber17/cc-by-sa-3.0

Royan Harbour © Cobber17/cc-by-sa-3.0

Royan is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, along the Atlantic Ocean, in southwestern France.   read more…

50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty

19 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  4 minutes

Sculpture of Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle by Chantal de la Chauvinière-Riant outside the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Berlin © Adam Carr

Sculpture of Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle by Chantal de la Chauvinière-Riant outside the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Berlin © Adam Carr

Élysée Treaty also known as the Treaty of Friendship, was concluded by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer in the Élysée Palace on January 22 1963. It set the seal on reconciliation between the two countries. With it, Germany and France established a new foundation for relations that ended centuries of rivalry between them.   read more…

Chambery in the Savoie Alps

8 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Chambéry and Lake of Bourget © Semnoz

Chambéry and Lake of Bourget © Semnoz

Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power. Chambéry was the Alpine Town of the Year in 2006.   read more…

Sanary-sur-Mer on the southern French Mediterranean coast

13 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Patrick Verdier

© Patrick Verdier

Sanary-sur-Mer is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It is located in coastal Provence on the Mediterranean Sea 13 km (8.1 mi) from Toulon and 49 km (30 mi) from Marseille. It can be reached from Paris by TGV train in less than 4 hours. In high season there are direct flights to nearby Toulon from London, Oslo, Brussels and Rotterdam.   read more…

Theme Week Corsica – Porto-Vecchio

12 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Nerijp

© Nerijp

Porto-Vecchio is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.   read more…

Bayonne in Basque Country

6 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

The Quay of the Admiral Jauréguiberry and the Cathedral © Daniel Villafruela

The Quay of the Admiral Jauréguiberry and the Cathedral © Daniel Villafruela

Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It belongs to both vernacular cultural regions of Basque Country and Gascony. Together with nearby Anglet, Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and several smaller communes, Bayonne forms an urban area with 178,965 inhabitants at the 1999 census, 40,078 of whom lived in the city of Bayonne proper (44,300 as of 2004). The communes of Bayonne, Biarritz, and Anglet have joined into an intercommunal entity called the Communauté d’agglomération de Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz (BAB). Bayonne has the longest tradition of bull-fighting in France and there is a ring beyond the walls of Grand Bayonne. The season runs between July and September. Bull-fighting is part of the five-day Fêtes de Bayonne which starts on the first Wednesday of August and attracts people from across the Basque Country and beyond. Parades, music, dance, fireworks, food and drink all feature in the celebrations. Soon after the Assumption festival of 15 August heralds a few more days of bull-fights.   read more…

Theme Week Corsica – Calvi

4 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Pinède Beach © Pierre Bona

Pinède Beach © Pierre Bona

Calvi is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. It is the seat of the Canton of Calvi, which contains Calvi and one other commune, Lumio. Calvi is also the capital of the Arrondissement of Calvi, which contains, besides the Canton of Calvi, three other cantons: L’Île-Rousse, Belgodère, and Calenzana.   read more…

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